March 3 – “Scooter vs. the Catfish”

No electricians.  That's the theme for today, I guess.  We were really hoping they would be at the house when we got there.  It is so hard not to get worried about timelines.    I worked on the sermon most of the morning.  Then we headed out to Jamaica Beach.  The plumber for this weekend asked us to take a drawing over to the city hall to get the permit process started.  It's a good thing we went.  They needed some more specific measurements the plumber couldn't have given them.  We also found out they needed to talk to him again.  They also wanted to be paid $90 for the two different fees involved.  But since we were there, we took care of what we could, and put them in touch with the plumber for the rest of the questions.  Looks like we should be able to get the permit by Thursday.  Good thing.  They start work Friday morning.   We went over to the church to take the measurements, and we called them back in.  Then we headed over to the house.  Even though we knew the electricians weren't there, we decided to just hang out for awhile.  Nathan and April and Cailyn even came by for awhile.  Chris said we were just "hanging out at home."  We couldn't bring ourselves to leave for a long time.    I decided to do a little fishing when we got home, and of course Scooter decided to come with me.  He's really inspirational.  Gets excited when he sees the bait, when he knows the bait is in the water, when the pole moves – at all.  Only thing is, he's never seen a real fish on the end of the line.  Until tonight.  I cast out two lines with dead shrimp on them and just let them sit.   I figured I would play with some crabs in the water and maybe let Scooter play with one on land.  We lost several shrimp, so I knew the crabs were there.  After awhile, Chris came down to let me know she was cold (at least that's what she said), when one of the poles bent over.  I threw her the pole in my hands and ran over to the hot one.  It was definitely not a crab.  Scooter was with me the whole way, watching the water and shaking like a leaf.  It was a big hardhead catfish, so we all relaxed.  All except Scooter, that is.  He was beside himself.  I lifted the fish up at the end of the line and Scooter went to jumping for it with a vengeance he hadn't yet shown in his attempts to grab bait.  Nathan and April were pulling out of the driveway, but they stopped to watch the Scooter vs. the Catfish show for a few minutes.  It took a lot longer than usual to unhook that feline fish with all the canine help I had.   Luke 3:15-17 says, "The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.  John answered them all, 'I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'"   Father, I want to be like Scooter.  I want to be excited about the possibilities in you.  And I want to be there when you show up.  Amen.